And There Was One
by Maguffium239
Summary: The gradual extinction of humanity, told from the point of view of Ice King's crown. Do not read unless you want to be depressed. Oneshot.


**So, yet another contemplative one-shot. After four tries, I finally managed to get this thing right! Sorry if I use a lot of vocabulary-homework type words; it's just how I imagine the Crown's personality. It's kinda pretentious. Anyway, here's the**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Adventure Time. (If I did, there would be like five "Simon and Marcy"s.) I only own my Marshal Lee doll. **

When I was made, there were many humans.

My first Master was a stern but benevolent ruler. He made me to ensure his people's safety after he and his family were unable to rule. His family is gone, but the descendants of his people once ruled the world. At least half of all humans alive during the time I found my second Master had some Northern blood in them. But I digress.

My second Master found me when there were innumerable humans, most of them weak. The first time I touched his head, I was… excited to say the least. I can do nothing without a Master, and I contained countless centuries' worth of pent-up magic aching to be unleashed. Unfortunately, my new Master, while strong, was unused to power of any sort, in spite of the grand things his race achieved in that age. His mind was overwhelmed. He attempted to reject me.

I could not allow that.

During the first short period of time I spent with him, we had a great deal of trouble. It did not help that the Great War were imminent. I confess that they unnerved me and I may have forced my Master to accept my powers a little too quickly for his untested mind to bear. He grew to hate me. But in spite of the hardships, I persevered. Master was sufficiently powerful by the time of the Great War. Most of the other humans were not as lucky.

* * *

Over the next millennium, the number of humans dropped off into thousands, then hundreds. Oh, many survived the Great War, but the Mutations that came after changed them, twisted them in ways both subtle and monstrous. Either way, something was always lost in the transformation. On top of that, the Colored Light Beasts came and preyed upon them, tearing the flesh from their bodies, massacring them. Only a small colony of pure humans were left. They increased for a while, but they were too few. Extinction was inevitable. But they never gave up hope, even down to the last fertile pair…

And then, there was only one.

By that time, Master had been secluded in our home for a very long time, interacting only with the creatures that preferred my favored climate of snow and ice. When I became aware – alas, too late – of the decline of humanity, I dug deep in Master's mind to uncover an impetus that would drive him forth again. He was ill suited to the task of saving humankind, and by that time so was I. Anyway, there was only one left. What good could one do?

As I soon found out, the one _was_ good. During the preceding millennium, all traces of weakness and evil had been bred out of the race. This last human was extraordinary, even though only a child. He did good for pleasure, spending his days assisting and rescuing the sentient creatures he encountered in his travels. I was pleased to see that the Good Companions had raised him, and one of them was with him still. Inspired by the virtue and strength of the last son of humanity, I devised a plan.

* * *

Now Master is the villain. I was reluctant to cast him as such (he was such a _good_ man), but there was no other way. The last human is the best specimen of his race I have ever encountered. It is fitting that his race is remembered by him. If he is to go down in song and story, he must be the hero of a tale worth telling. For humanity to be remembered, the last human needs a story, and what is a story without a villain?

That is why Master now abducts princesses. That is why he worsens every problem. That is why I have not sought some way to heal his mind. Finn the Human may be a lingering ember of a dying species, but as long as Ice King is darkness to the land, that ember will shine like a star, and the last tale of the human race will be remembered forever…

And there will always be one.

**I like emotional drama. And having an excuse to use all the big words I know without being a complete jerk :D**

**Review and favorite! (Or don't.) Also, check out "Whispers of Ice and Snow" by TheNextGenOtaku, which inspired this fic. **

**Thanks for reading!**


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